Mothers On A Mission To Bring Awareness To Toxic Chemicals In Common Products

NEW YORK (CBS 2) -- A group of moms were on a stroller brigade Wednesday in New York City to bring awareness to hidden chemical dangers. Mothers across the country took their strollers and capes to the street trying to catch the attention of lawmakers.

They wanted to get the message out about everyday household cleaning and baby products with chemicals inside them. To let the public know what was safe and what was not.

"For most products, they aren't labeled at all or if they are labeled, they're not completely labeled," Bobbi Chase told CBS 2's Ann Mercagliano. "We want to know what kind of dangers they might pose before they even go out on the marketplace."

Mary Brune said it was about knowing more now so that it could save lives later. She blamed her exposure to pesticides as a child on health problems she developed as an adult.

"It's something that happened 30 years ago, it's really hard to draw a direct line between my own chemical exposures and the problems I was having becoming pregnant," Brune said.

Moms are not alone when it comes to confusion with chemicals. Doctors said more needs to be done to test the thousands of chemicals we come across in everyday living -- like bookshelves or baby products.

"We're really concerned that we continue to put things in the environment and then wonder decades later whether there's a potential for human health effects and that's just not the right principal to be operating under," said Dr. Maida Galvez, of Mount Sinai's Environmental Health Center.

"Too often parents are asking us 'was this product I used harmful to my child?' And right now burden is on the consumer to figure that out," she said.

So how do you separate fact from fiction when it comes to chemicals, labels and the rest of it? Galvez said parents need to keep it simple.

"Less is more so if you can minimize the use of products in general, that's probably the safest bet," Galvez said.

The moms are all in support of the Safe Chemicals Act of 2011. Some lawmakers say it would increase chemical safety and better inform moms and other consumers about what is in the products they buy.

Stroller brigades of parents and children marched in more than a dozen other states Wednesday, including Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

Do you think enough is being done to show what chemicals are in common products?  Share your thoughts in the comments section...